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[Ninja Dodo]

I'm a bit busy with some freelance animation work at the moment, but the project continues to move forward.

One thing I'm working on is replacing direct references to player sprite names with a generic label (eg "anim_run"), with a single sprite list for that character to set the right animation for each label. This will allow me to more easily swap characters, so if I want to have player 2 look different for visual clarity, or if I want to have a specific hero for a story level (say Herakles, with club and lion's pelt) I can do this without having to manually edit every script for that character. I can just create a new sprite list.

Still have to make the sprites first though.

[Ninja Dodo]

Some things I'm working on:



I'm experimenting with a shield bash move, which pushes back enemies. My initial thought was to put this on a second press of LEFT or RIGHT when duck/blocking and already facing in that direction but I'm finding this interferes with getting up from a block.

An alternative I'm trying out now is to have this on SHIFT and C, which seems to work well and could double as a button for using a secondary tool or weapon when not carrying a shield (other characters may have diff weapons). This also opens up the possibility of performing a shield bash when standing or moving around (ie not just from a block) which could be interesting.

Also been toying with the idea of having special sprites for stairs (having specific poses might help convey tactical significance of higher ground), but it looks like this is going to be too much work for too little gameplay benefit at this stage, so I may come back to this later (when I do an animation pass).

[Ninja Dodo]

Animation replacement is sorted! For the occasion I've made player 2's shield a nice red. Eventuallly I plan to have different characters that players can choose between, but now does not seem like a good time to spend a lot of energy on skins when I could be working on, you know, gameplay...

Plus I don't particularly fancy updating several sets of characters as the sprite set changes to fit new features. Don't like throwing away work for no good reason.

I did a quick mockup of alternative HUD placement over this screenshot.




Still a bit busy with aforementioned other stuff, but it's getting there and I expect I'll have a new version up soon.

[Ninja Dodo]

New video:

[Ninja Dodo]

Version 12:



Download: http://www.ninjadodo.net/temp/hellas/hellas_v12.zip

Added shield bash (duck/block DOWN + SHIFT or C) and non-specific animation references allowing for different sprites between player 1 and player 2, hence the red shield. Also a "Retry" text on death and the "Gods demand sacrifice!"-line when you try to use the GRAB-power with zero sacrifices. The camera normally focuses on player 1 but if p1 is not moving, and p2 is, it take the average position to try and keep both on screen. Right now when p1 dies the camera stops, but I'm going to fix this in a later version so that it switches to p2 as the lead player.

Also continued to refine the skeleton behaviour (see changelist for details).

Any feedback on the 2-player camera or the shield bash (or anything else) would be very welcome!

[DustyDrake]

Also occasionally the player would get stuck in the single frame of the throw animation after running off of a staircase

[Ninja Dodo]

Can you tell me more about what caused above screenshot? Were you attacking? Hurt? Just landing? I'm aware of some collision bugs but I haven't run into this one so not sure how reproduce it.

The second thing: By stuck do you mean permanently or just for a few seconds? Were you carrying a spear? Did you throw it just before hitting the floor?

[DustyDrake]

The first one I think I had bounced my sword off the wall and then I know for sure I walked off the block.

The second one happened unreliably after I had thrown a spear, and lasted until I stopped moving or changed directions.

[Ninja Dodo]

OK, I'm going to do some tests but I think I know where the problem is. Thanks for the details.

[Ninja Dodo]

Version 13:

Download: http://www.ninjadodo.net/temp/hellas/hellas_v13.zip

Mostly tweaks and fixes in this version.

Fixed some problems with collisions (mainly during attacks) and I believe I've fixed the player getting stuck in the throw pose (couldn't reproduce consistently, so it's hard to be sure).

I've revamped the camera system so now there is a smooth hand over if one player dies, plus the other player can be respawned as long as one survives (press S for p2, DOWN for p1). Also some tweaks to the HUD.

New video:

[Ninja Dodo]

Another video:





Testing out screen shake (which I'm going to be needing later for earthquakes and such)... This meant unlocking the y axis on the camera which had the side-effect of adding vertical panning when moving around the level. With some adjustments I was able to keep the overall composition of the screen intact and I'm finding it makes the movement feel smoother and less restricted.

What do you guys think based on the video?

The way I've done the camera is to have one object, "cam_target", tracking the player and a second object, "cam_track" (which the camera focuses on) that tries to keep up with the target. I put a limit on it so it doesn't go too high or low (beyond the level edge) and cam_track moves faster when further away from the target.

Inspired by this GMC thread I added a third "cam_shake" object that sticks to cam_track but moves randomly in x and y when activated (a new position every few frames). The view is then set to focus on cam_shake for the duration of the shaking.

I've made it so you can have both infinite shaking and a timed shake, with a lower amplitude towards the end (because it feels weird if a violently shaking camera just stops dead instantly).

[Ninja Dodo]

In other news, I was doing some research and found this awesome reference book (in french) analyzing the way animals are painted in the Greek vase style. Since I plan to have a fair number of creatures in the game, this could be very useful indeed.



In some cases I may stray a bit from the traditional design for the sake of readability or other concerns, but it helps to have an accurate starting point.

[r0ber7]

Those look awesome, would fit in nicely in the game.

A thought occurred: during an earthquake, you could have parts of the vase break off.

 

[Ninja Dodo]

Definitely an interesting idea. The question is: What are the gameplay implications of that? If there's a crack or hole in the vase do you simply walk through it (like the missing part still exists virtually) or is it like the edge of the world that you can fall through or off?

Would be cool though to have for example a collapsing building and then have parts of the vase collapse as the building does... but I don't know if I'm good enough with GML script to pull that off. Maybe could be done with surfaces.

[Ninja Dodo]

Working on split-screen and versus mode. I've decided I don't have a solution for infinite looping in split-screen so until that changes versus levels will have edges. I'm extending the test level a bit for this purpose (but not changing the single/co-op level). Just a rough layout with placeholder blocks... I'll do a visual pass later when I'm happy with the layout.

[oahda]

Awesome!

[sabajt]

Yes awesome, I always feel like there aren't enough console-multiplayer-type pc games so I hope that feature makes it to release!

[Ninja Dodo]

A bunch of things to test still, but as long as I can make the combat fun some form of this is definitely going in!

I should have a new playable version soonish.

[r0ber7]

 

For some reason this game is one of the few I always check out when I'm here. Keep up! 

[Ninja Dodo]

@r0ber7: Thanks, man. Hope to keep it interesting.

I've done some more work on versus and I've got a first test version of Zeus' lightning-power now...

New video: